On the plate: The Local Eatery offers more than great tater tots

Nov. 29, 2012

Loading Photo Galleries ...

The apple/cranberry cobbler with a scoop of ice cream at The Local Eatery & Pub is hard to resist. / Frank Espich / The Star

More

ADVERTISEMENT

A recent mention of The Local Eatery & Pub on Urbanspoon's list of the country's top 100 kid-friendly restaurants may have been what prompted our visit.

But the Westfield restaurant, launched by Craig Baker and Derek Means in early 2011 at 14655 N. Gray Road, turned out to be more than a great place to dine with kids. Adults will appreciate the ambitious touches on Baker's accessible menu.

With its sustainable, green, farm-to- table focus, The Local also wins points with the artisan food crowd, which was good because the only kid available to tag along for dinner was the 21-year-old vegetarian college student. And even though there weren't a lot of vegetarian options on the menu, he still appreciated The Local's sustainable food vibe.

Since we didn't have the younger kids with us, we were able to skip the 20-minute wait (still, not bad for a busy Saturday night) and find a table in the bar.

Even though we weren't in the main dining room, it was easy to see why The Local made Urbanspoon's kid-friendly list. Despite the wall that delineates the bar, the space is basically one big, rather loud room. The Local features handsome though minimalist decor and plenty of TVs, which also raise the noise level.

Plus, the tables are covered with brown craft paper, and even our oldest -- heck, even his dad -- would've drawn if he'd had crayons.

And then there are the tots. Nothing says kid-friendly like tater tots, though The Local's version was immeasurably better than those you remember from the school cafeteria.

We ordered a basket of the plain variety ($3.95) as a starter (Cajun is also an option), and they quickly disappeared. You do want to eat them while they're hot. A lukewarm tot is just not as delightful as one that's just-cooked crisp.

As much as we liked the childhood staple, we also enjoyed the more grown-up hummus plate ($9.95), which included mildly flavored hummus, tzatziki, olives, feta, cucumber and pita.

But which would I order again? The tots, of course.

As far as entrees go, all of our choices would merit trying again.

That was definitely the case with the Gunthorp Farms pork chop ($18). Beautifully cooked and served with a lightly sweet sauce, it was simply an excellent chop. The asparagus that accompanied the chop, while nicely cooked, is such a springtime vegetable that it seemed an odd choice for this time of year, especially at a restaurant that takes a local, seasonal approach.

On the other hand, I appreciated the bright flavor of the end-of-the-season sorrel that found its way into a chimichurri sauce. The flavorful sauce was served atop a terrific Iberico flank steak ($24), an item listed as a market special on the current menu. No, it wasn't local -- far from it. But served with crisp, roasted potatoes and that brightly flavored chimichurri, the Spanish pork was delicious.

We also enjoyed a Viking Lamb shepherd's pie ($15), although it arrived at the table so hot that by the time it was cool enough to enjoy, others had nearly finished their entrees.

The vegetarian's choice amid all the meaty goodness? A very flavorful white bean burger ($10), which deftly avoided dryness -- the bane of bean burgers -- with the addition of sour cream.

We enjoyed dessert, and, honestly, an order of beignets ($6) would have been plenty for three to share. But we couldn't resist a comforting apple crisp, whose homey flavor perfectly suited The Local's homemade state of mind.